Oh, patents! Apple Watch band (2)

 Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

The flattering Apple Watch bands are all patented. For example, the Modern Buckle band was awarded the US design patent, USD724469S1, titled Band. The patent was granted on March 17, 2015, to a team of 20 inventors: Jody Akana, Bartley K. Andre, Shota Aoyagi, Anthony Michael Ashcroft, Jeremy Bataillou, Daniel J. Coster, Daniele De Iuliis, M. Evans Hankey, Julian Hoenig, Richard P. Howarth, Jonathan P. Ive, Duncan Robert Kerr, Marc A. Newson, Matthew Dean Rohrbach, Peter Russell-Clarke, Benjamin Andrew Shaffer, Mikael Silvanto, Christopher J. Stringer, Eugene Antony Whang and Rico Zörkendörfer.

The patent Figure 9 is included below, together with a chartreuse-colored model of the Apple Watch Modern Buckle band. The dotted lines on the patent Figure 9 indicate parts excluded from the claimed design. 

As a reminder, a US design patent covers the ornamental aspects of an invention, or how the invention looks. Whereas, a US utility patent covers how an invention works. Thus, the actual magnetic closure mechanism of the Modern Buckle design is unclaimed in this patent. This design patent only covers the way the watch band looks. 

References
Apple Inc. (website)
www.apple.com

USPTO MPEP – Chapt. 1502-01 – Distinction between design and utility patent.
https://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/s1502.html

Released! Translating the Language of Patents

 Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

Available at Amazon.com 

Directly at Routledge (for softcover and preview copies )

This book is a guide to translating the language of patents in view of avoiding costly translation errors. Errors that might hinder the examination process for granting patents, or that might make patents undefendable in a context of litigation.

The 42 sections of this book each identify different provisions of the law for their relevance to translation. These provisions govern language uses, right down to the use of punctuation. Each of the sections present findings, both in terms of the relevant provisions identified, and their specific significance to translation. Exemplified translations focus on French and English, but when there is a consensus across Intellectual property systems, multilingual parallelism is highlighted.

European Inventor Awards 2024 (4) - The Jury.

 Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

The European Inventor Awards Jury selected the twelve 2024 contest finalists out of a pool of more than 550 proposals. The Jury was made up of distinguished scientists and entrepreneurs, former finalists or winners of the contest in previous years. The following  six women and seven men were members of the 2024 Jury:

(from right to left)

Wolfgang M. Heckl (Chair) is Director General of the Deutsches Museum in Munich.
Catia Bastioli, CEO of the Novamont Group, an international leader in the bioplastics and biochemicals sector. 

Winner European Inventor Award 2007 (SMEs/Research)

Nuno Correia, Founder of SolarisFloat Ltd, and co-inventor of a mooring platform for floating solar farms that tracks the sun.  

Finalist European Inventor Award 2022 (SMEs)

Nuria Espallargas, Professor at the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering NTNU, Norway.

Finalist European Inventor Award 2022 (SMEs)

Joachim Fiedler,  Professional cellist in several orchestras and ensemble. In 2007, founded Fidlock GmbH to develop quick-release magnetic-mechanical fasteners for cello bows, and additional applications. 

Finalist  European Inventor Award 2022 (SMEs)

Peter Holme Jensen, PhD and founder of Aquaporin, a company that develops natural, sustainable water treatment solutions.

Winner of the European Inventor Award 2014 (SMEs)

Marta Karczewicz, Vice-President of Technology at Qualcomm, where she has driven advances in data coding algorithms since 2006. 

Winner of the  European Inventor Award 2019 for Lifetime Achievement

Ursula Keller, Professor at ETH Zurich in the Ultrafast Laser Physics research lab and co-founder of several companies. 

Winner of the European Inventor Award 2018 for Lifetime Achievement

Agnès Poulbot, Senior expert at Michelin, where she co-invented a regenerative tire tread technology that extends tire life and reduces fuel consumption.

Winner of the European Inventor Award 2018 (Industry)

Erin Smith, Entrepreneur and inventor of FacePrint, a screening tool that uses AI to analyze facial expressions that indicate the onset of Parkinson's.

Winner of the Young Inventors First Prize 2022

Richard Turere, Conservationist, entrepreneur and author from Kenya.

Winner of Young Inventors First Prize 2023

Zhentian Wang, Associate Professor at Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, dedicated to developing X-ray imaging methods for advanced breast cancer screening. 

Finalist European Inventor Award 2022 (Non-EPO Countries)

Reference

European Inventor Award
https://www.epo.org/en/news-events/european-inventor-award

EPO Popular Prize (3) - Vote here!

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

The European Patent Organization (EPO) invites the public to vote for the Finalist who will receive the Popular Prize. The Popular Prize winner, solely decided by the public, will be announced on the occasion of the European Inventor Awards Ceremony, to be held in Malta, on July 9, 2024. 

The rules for voting are the following:

• You may vote as many times as you like, but only once a day, for any one of the 12 Finalists.
• You may vote as many times as you like, up to the Awards Ceremony. Votes are counted during the ceremony. 
• Voting is free.
• Registration to vote requires an authenticated email, or social media account, the first time you vote. 

Click below to vote for your favorite inventors/inventions!

Click here to vote

Reference

European Inventor Award: Meet the Finalists.

https://tinyurl.com/2p57rc2r 

The Young European Inventor Finalists (2)

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

Since 2022, the European Inventor Awards include three cash prizes, granted to three young (<30) inventors. The cash prizes are in the amount of 20,000 euros for the first prize, 10,000 euros for the second prize, and 5,000 euros for the third prize. The selected inventions are all required to address one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)*.

The 2024 selected young inventors are the following:

Rochelle Niemeijer (Netherlands): Founder of Nostics, and inventor of an AI-driven point-of-care test kit to detect and identify bacterial infections. Niemeijer's invention arises within the larger context of antibiotic resistance, responsible for an estimated one million deaths each year. The test kits, using Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS), provide results in about 15 minutes. They also bypass the need for expert users, or having to send samples to a lab for analysis. Inspired by the absence of diagnostic tools and doctors on a trip to Cambodia, the project addresses the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #3 (Good health and well-being).

• US2023152235A1 - Improved biomolecule detection using surface-enhanced raman spectroscopy.
• NL2032167B1 - Method for preparing a SERS substrate for pathogen analysis in a sample.

Valentyn Frechka (Ukraine): Inventor of sustainable paper made from fallen leaves, and founder of the company Releaf Paper. Initially a high school science project, this invention addresses both deforestation and carbon emissions. It takes an average of 17 trees to produce enough cellulose for a ton of paper. With 2.3 tons of leaves, collected from parks and green spaces, one ton of cellulose is produced which is then processed into paper. Fallen leaf paper also has a much shorter degradation cycle of approximately 30 days, compared to 270 for traditional paper. When the Ukraine war broke out in 2022, Frechka relocated his company to France, where he now has major clients such as L’Oréal, Chanel and Samsung. The Releaf Paper invention addresses the UN Sustainable Development  Goals (SDG) #9 (Industry, innovation, and infrastructure) and (SDG) #12 (Responsible consumption and production). 

• WO2023182969A1 - A method for producing a chemi-thermomechanical fibrous pulp from non-wood plant raw materials and an automated line for producing said pulp by said method.

• UA155709U - A method for the production of eco-paper products using modified fallen leaves.

Khaoula Ben Ahmed, Ghofrane Ayari, Souleima Ben Temime and Sirine Ayari (Tunisia): Founders of Gewinner, this group of four young Tunisian women invented the multimodal MOOVOBRAIN system for operating wheelchairs with varying degrees of upper body disability. In one mode, the wheelchair is facial gesture-controlled. In a second mode, the wheelchair is voice-controlled. In a third mode, the wheelchair is virtual joystick-controlled. The system is mobile phone-based, compatible with a large variety of electric wheelchairs. The MOOVOBRAIN invention addresses the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SGD) #3 (Good health and well-being) and (SDG) #10 (Reduced inequalities).

• TN2019000088A1 - Système de pilotage et de surveillance a distance d'une chaise roulante electrique par voix et pensée.

---------------

Note: *Sustainable Development Goals, adopted by the 193 member states of the United Nations, offer a popular framework of clearly identifiable and measurable goals to end world poverty, in global partnership with civil society and government agencies. 

References
Gewinner
https://gewinner.tn/  
Meet the (young inventor) finalists.
https://tinyurl.com/mwpnm6nw
Nostics BV
https://nostics.com/
Releaf Paper
https://www.releaf-paper.com/
UN Sustainable Development Goals
https://sdgs.un.org/goals

European Inventor Awards 2024 (1) - The Finalists

 Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

On July 9, 2024, the prestigious European Inventor Awards will be conferred upon inventors competing in one of four categories:  Industry, Small and Medium (S&M) Enterprise,  Research, and Non-European Patent Organization. This year, the ceremony will take place in the beautiful Mediterranean city of Malta, on the Island Republic of Malta, next to the southern Italian island of Sicily.   

Below, the list of the 12 finalists and their competing inventions, in each of the four categories. 

Industry

Ferham Sigurjonsson and team  (Iceland): wound healing fish-skin graft.

• EP2485779B1 - A scaffold material for wound care and/or other tissue healing applications.
• EP2575795B8 - Stabilized formulation comprising omega-3 fatty acids and use of the fatty acids for skin care and/or wound care.

​​Ulf Landegren, Simon Fredriksson and team​ (Sweden): molecular diagnostics for improved disease detection

• EP2714925B1 - Multiplexed proximity ligation assay.
• EP2920320B1 -RCA reporter probes and their use in detecting nucleic acid molecules.
• EP2707502B1 - Unfolding proximity probes and methods for the use thereof.

Fiorenzo Dioni (Italy) and Richard Oberle (Germany): reduction of carbon emission in automotive manufacturing.

• ​​EP3554745B1​ - Injection assembly for pressure die casting systems.

Small and Medium (S&M) Enterprise

Olga Malinkiewicz and team​ (Poland): printable solar cell technology.

• EP3227394B1 - A film-forming composition and a method for manufacturing a photoactive film.
• EP3719001B1- A method for synthesis of organic iodides.

​​Bruno Mottet, Lyderic Bocquet and team​ (France): sustainable osmotic energy production. 

• EP3344374B1 - Device for producing energy by salinity gradient through nano-fluid titanium oxide membranes.
• EP2909477B1 - Method and device for producing energy.

Sirpa Jalkanen and Markku Jalkanen (Finland): targeted immunotherapy for cancer treatment.

• EP2421888 - Clever-1 receptor antagonists for blocking immune-inhibitory type 2 macrophages.
• EP3445785B1 - Humanized anti-clever-1 antibodies and their use.

Research

​​​​Cordelia Schmid​ (Germany): AI solutions for improved machine visual perception.

• EP3547211 - Methods for training a cnn and classifying an action performed by a subject in an inputted video using said cnn.
• EP3549102 - Determining structure and motion in images using neural networks.

Tonio Sant, Daniel Buhagiar and team​ (Malta): improved energy storage for offshore wind farms.

• EP3256716B1 - Hydro-pneumatic energy storage system.

David Devos, Caroline Moreau and team​ (France): improved treatment for Parkinson’s disease.

• EP3142651B1 - Pharmaceutical solution comprising dopamine for use in treating Parkinson's disease.

Non-European Patent Organization country

David Fattal (USA):  3D imaging without glasses.

• EP3175267B1 - Multibeam diffraction grating-based color backlighting.
• EP3248058B1 - Unidirectional grating-based backlighting employing a reflective island.
• EP3283923B1 - 2D/3D mode-switchable electronic display with dual layer backlight.

Masato Sagawa (Japan): superior strength magnets.

• EP3260380B1 - Manufacturing method of a sintered magnet.
• EP2889883B1 - NDFEB-based sintered magnet.
• EP2696355B1 - Manufacturing method for a sintered neodymium magnet.

​Fernando Catalano, Micael Carmo and team (Brazil): reduced noise and carbon emissions in air travel.

• EP2137066B1 - Aerodynamic seal for reduction of noise generated on aircraft control surfaces.
• EP3676172B1 - Retractable leading edge wing slats having autonomously curvable airflow shield for noise-abatement.
• EP3676173B1 - Noise abatement systems for retractable leading edge wing slats of an aircraft.

Reference
European Inventor Awards 2024 -: Meet the finalists
https://tinyurl.com/2p57rc2r

Oh, patents! - Apple Watch band (1)

 Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

The carbon-neutral Apple Watch sports loop band, with a velcro closure, is made with 82% recycled yarns, some of which come from fishing nets. The  Apple Watch sports loop band design is also patented. The US design patent, USD837082S1, titled Band, was granted on January 1, 2019, to a team of 22 inventors: Jody Akana, Molly Anderson, Bartley K. Andre, Shota Aoyagi, Anthony Michael Ashcroft, Marine C. Bataille, Jeremy Bataillou, Daniele De Iuliis, Markus Diebel, M. Evans Hankey, Julian Hoenig, Richard P. Howarth, Jonathan P. Ive, Julian Jaede, Duncan Robert Kerr, Peter Russell-Clarke, Benjamin Andrew Shaffer, Mikael Silvanto, Joe Sung Ho Tan, Clement Tissandier. Eugene Antony Whang and Rico Zörkendörfer.

The patent Figure 9 is included below, together with an image of the Apple Watch sports loop band, in the color Lake Green. The dotted lines on the patent Figure 9 indicate parts excluded from the claimed design. 

As a reminder, a US design patent covers the ornamental aspects of an invention, or how the invention looks. Whereas, a US utility patent covers how an invention works. Thus, aspects of the Apple Watch sports loop band, such as the velcro closure and its carbon neutral fabrication, are unclaimed in the design patent. This patent only covers the way the Apple Watch sports loop band looks. 

References
Apple Inc. (website)
www.apple.com
USPTO MPEP – Chapt. 1502-01 – Distinction between design and utility patent.
https://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/s1502.html